A Tale of Two Divas
by thedarklordfluffy
Summary: Set after high school.  Kurt and Rachel move to New York together after graduation and try to make it big on Broadway.  Throw a few old friends into the mix and who knows what can happen.  Eventual pairings K/? and R/? respectively, and rating may change.
1. Where it all began

**I own nothing kiddies. It is sad but true.**

Rachel Berry stood in front of the tall screens that she had been longing to see again for two painfully long years. "I'm finally back!" she whispered excitedly to herself.

"Rachel!"

The girl in question jumped at the sound of her name and spun around to face the amused and slightly impatient face of her roommate-to-be, Kurt Hummel.

"Come on Rachel," he said as he propped his fists on his hips, "We have the rest of our lives to gape like tourists, and the furniture stores won't stay open all night."

Rachel smiled and rolled her eyes at the fabulously, if not somewhat flamboyantly dressed, boy. "I know that Kurt, but it's all so exciting!" she said as she bounced excitedly on the balls of her feet.

Kurt smiled indulgingly at the girl and walked over to stand beside her. "I know! I can't believe it either, but," he said as he took her hand and tucked it into the crook of his arm, "we'll have more time to squeal and be excited later. Preferably when we both have a bed to sleep in tonight, because I for one am not particularly keen on sleeping on the floor my first night in New York City." He glanced down at the girl and, with obvious good humor, said, "Unlike you, I do not have an absurd collection of printed sweaters with which to stuff my sheets. My clothes are designer and I have no desire for them to be on the floor with the dust bunnies."

"Fine, fine," Rachel replied with a playful glare directed towards the tall boy.

With a superior smirk firmly in place, Kurt began to drag Rachel in the direction of affordable furniture stores.

_** Page Break **_

At 4:27 a.m. the unlikely pair collapsed onto their small chocolate brown sofa inside of their new Village apartment. It had taken Kurt and Rachel the better part of the day to find furniture that they both agreed on and could afford.

"Well, it's a bit sparse, but we'll be able to add decorative touches later," said Kurt.

Rachel nodded and looked around their newly furnished room.

"Did we forget anything?"

Rachel pulled a folded piece of paper out of her pocket. "Let's see. For the bedroom: two beds, two dresser drawers, two end tables, two desks, two desk chairs, and two lamps. For the living room: one sofa, one coffee table, one large book case, two standing lamps, one small entertainment center. For the bathroom: towels, toothbrush holder, soap dish, and two small bath mats. And for the kitchen: two pots, two skillets, a cookie sheet, a muffin pan, a set of mixing bowls, four place settings, plates and bowls of course, four sets of flatware, mixing spoon, spatula, one mixer, one toaster, two gallon sized pitchers, a water purifier and a set of Tupperware. Yep, we have everything on our list." Rachel sighed in relief and dropped the list onto the coffee table before leaning back into the couch.

"Fantastic," said Kurt. "You said that your dads would bring the electronics and whatever small things we forgot, right?"

"Yeah, Dad and Daddy will be coming up next weekend with our big electronics and anything we might have forgotten."

Kurt only nodded in response.

Rachel yawned and laid her head on Kurt's shoulder. "We should probably get to bed."

"Probably," said Kurt as he closed his eyes and leaned his head back on the couch, "but I personally have no desire to move."

"We're going to regret sleeping here when we wake up."

"Yes, but I can't bring myself to care at the moment. We'll just have to make sure that-" his voice cut short when he looked over to see that Rachel was asleep on his shoulder. Kurt smiled and leaned back against the cushions and fell asleep soon after.

_** Page Break **_

"Get up."

Rachel mumbled incoherently and pushed her face into the couch cushions.

"Get. Up," said Kurt as he flipped the lights on in the living room.

Wha-? Kurt, it's 8:30 in the morning," said the still mostly sleeping girl in a muffled voice.

"I am well aware of what time it is. Now, get up. I already have your clothes picked out for you."

Rachel glared up at Kurt, hating him a little bit for being capable of looking so put together with only a few hours of sleep. "Why are you up this early?"

"We," he began as he hauled Rachel into a standing position and pushed her lightly towards the bathroom, "are going shopping."

"Did you think of something that we forgot to get yesterday?"

"No."

"Then why are we going shopping again?"

"I never said that we were going shopping for furniture."

"Then what—?"

"We're going to get you some new clothes."

Rachel braced her hands on the bathroom doorframe. "Kurt, I already have clothes."

The tall young man pried Rachel's hands off of the doorframe and gently pushed her inside. "Not anymore you don't."

"What?" said Rachel sharply with her toothbrush hanging out of her mouth.

"I took the liberty of throwing out all of your hideous sweaters, obscenely short skirts, ridiculous socks, and any other clothes that I deemed appropriate."

Instead of responding Rachel stared wordlessly at him with her mouth agape and her toothbrush still in hand.

Kurt leaned casually against the door and watched Rachel's reaction with amusement. "So, sorry," he said with obvious sarcasm, "but I absolutely refuse to let you walk around New York City looking like you did in high school."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Rachel," said Kurt slowly as if he were talking to a child, "while you're living with me you will not dress like a grandma, a toddler, a horny teenage boy's wet dream, or any combination there of."

"I don't—"

"No, no. That wasn't a question. Now, get your short little butt moving. Unless you want to go naked tomorrow, of course?"

Rachel looked at Kurt with an incredulous glare.

"I thought not. We leave in half an hour."

_** Page Break **_

"Rachel…sweetie….why don't you stick to solids and simple patterns for now?"

"What's wrong with this?" asked an oblivious Rachel as she looked in the mirror at the violently clashing plaid and polka dot patterned outfit that she had picked out. "You mix patterns all the time."

"Yes, but you're a beginner sweetie. I have been dressing fashionably since before I could walk."

Rachel sighed and looked longingly at the outfit in the mirror before turning and mentally comparing it to the form fitting jeans and button down shirt and forest green vest of her companion. _Why does he always have to look like he stepped off of a runway?_ She sighed and turned completely to face Kurt. He watched her for a moment, his face carefully blank; she bowed with a sarcastic, yet good natured smile and said, "Teach me your ways Oh Great One."

Kurt's face immediately split into a wide smile. He began to bounce in his chair and clap his hands together. "Yay! Let's go!" He shoved Rachel unceremoniously back into the dressing room. "Now, get dressed and then find me when you're done. I'll go ahead and pick out some outfits that will look fabulous and then you can help me pick out some colors."

"Kurt….Kurt!" _Damn, when it comes to clothes he's quick._ Rachel quickly put the dress that Kurt had allowed her to keep back on and walked out of the dressing room to find Kurt weaving deftly through the racks of clothes with multiple items hanging off of his arm.

"Oh good, you're done. Come over here." Rachel walked over to stand beside Kurt. He immediately began holding up clothing and setting it against her skin and hair. "Hmmm….. I think, to start out we should stick to the more bold colors, avoid pastels for a little while until you get the hang of mixing and matching."

"Can I at least keep some of my clothes?"

"No." Kurt stopped for a moment and looked Rachel up and down, scrutinizing her appearance. "We can get you some more skirts and such, but nothing as short as your old ones."

"But—"

"Rachel, you need skirts that are stylish, sexy and _professional_. The skirts that you wore in high school were none of these."

"Fine, they may not have been what you call stylish and they weren't really professional, but Kurt, your gay. I think that your idea of sexy might be a little different from most of the other guys at school."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "While that may be true, the only person who paid close and constant attention to the length of your skirts was Puck."

Rachel blushed and looked away. She cleared her throat awkwardly. "So, umm….what kind of clothes do you think will look nice?"

Kurt narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the sudden change of topic, and thought, _Well, that's interesting, _but shrugged and took the opportunity to begin Rachel's fashion education.

_** Page Break **_

Five skirts, three pairs of pants, fifteen assorted blouses, t-shirts and sweaters, two coats, five pairs of shoes and a varied selection of accessories later Kurt and Rachel collapsed into chairs outside of a small coffee shop just outside of The Village.

"So, now what?" asked Rachel.

"I have no idea. I'm too tired to even think."

"It's funny; I thought that I was in excellent physical condition before I came here. I don't think that I've ever walked so much in my life."

"And I thought that I was already a hard core shopper. I swear I saw a woman smaller than you carrying twice as many bags."

The waitress came over to take their order, and when she left to place them the pair sat in companionable silence. A few minutes later the waitress returned with their drink order. Kurt finished his coffee first, and watched his fellow New Yorkers walk in and out of nearby restaurants and shops. He sighed lightly and lounged back in his chair with his eyes closed. "I love it here."

Rachel sat sipping lightly on her own coffee. "Yes. It is wonderful here."

"Although," said Kurt as he cracked an eyelid and glanced at his companion, "I never thought that I would be living with you. Not that I'm unhappy about it," he interjected quickly, "I just always thought I would be here with Blaine."

Rachel nodded and sat still for a moment. "How are Blaine and his sister by the way?"

"They're fine….or as fine as they can be at the moment."

"What's wrong?"

"I'll tell you when we get back to the apartment."

"Alright," the young woman responded as she finished off her coffee. "Are we ready to go?"

"Absolutely."

"I think that we should just order Chinese tonight and watch a musical or two."

"Sounds wonderful."

The two gathered all of the shopping bags, stood stiffly to their feet, and began to walk the last few blocks to their apartment complex.


	2. The missing Blaine

"Alright, tofu stir fry for you, and lo mien for me," said Kurt as he handed Rachel her take-out box of food and sat down heavily beside her on the couch.

"Thank you Kurt," answered Rachel as she took the food with one hand and picked up the TV remote with the other, "I have selected _The Newsies_ in honor of our first day that began and ended in this wonderful city."

"Excellent," responded Kurt as he snapped his chopsticks apart and began eating.

The two ate in silence as they watched their movie. Once take out boxes were empty the Kurt and Rachel began to sing along with what remained of the movie.

"So," began Rachel as the movie ended and the credits began to role, "how are Blaine and Nichole?"

Kurt leaned back against the couch and sighed. "Well, they've certainly been better."

"What's wrong?" asked Rachel, her voice rising with concern. "Are they alright?"

"They're fine Rachel, physically at least."

"Then what's wrong?"

Kurt looked at his roommate for a long moment, silently debating with himself about how much he should tell her. "Nothing I say can ever leave this apartment. Blaine and Nicki have worked hard to keep this as private as they can."

Rachel nodded earnestly. "I swear; I won't tell anyone."

"That includes Finn, or anyone else, Rachel. They won't mind that I told you since I'm going to be living with you, and it's bound to come up at some point, but no one else can find out unless Blaine or Nicki decide to tell them."

"I said that I wouldn't tell anyone, Kurt."

"Fine…Blaine and Nicki's parents are splitting up."

Rachel gasped in surprise. The Andersons had always seemed like the perfect family. Apparently they were just better at hiding problems than people gave them credit for. "That's horrible!"

Kurt nodded in agreement. "Yes, and it's a messy divorce too. They've been at each other's throats since the lawyers were called. It's not so bad for Blaine since he doesn't live at home anymore, but Nicki…" Kurt hissed in sympathy for his friend, "she's stuck in the middle. Her parents have been trying to play her against one another. They're both trying to turn her against each other."

Once again Rachel gasped, this time in horror. "How could they do that to her?"

Kurt shrugged, "I have no idea, but it's driving the poor girl crazy."

"I would imagine so, but what does this have to do with Blaine? You said he wasn't as affected since he doesn't live there anymore."

"That's true, but you know Blaine; if there's anyone in this world that he would do absolutely anything for it's his sister. Once he figured out what was going on he flew back home and gave both of his parents a piece of his mind."

"Good for him."

"Oh, that's not all he did."

Rachel leaned forward in anticipation. "Does this have something to do with why he isn't in New York with us?"

Kurt nodded, "Blaine took the money that his parents gave him and the money he saved himself and moved to Chicago without telling them."

"What?" exclaimed Rachel, "Why would he do that?"

"Nicki applied to and got into Columbia College in Chicago. Blaine moved there to get a job and an apartment so that Nicki could move in with him after she graduates from high school."

"Why not let her live in a dorm? And what's Blaine going to do about school?"

"He doesn't want Nicki to be…easily accessible for their parents, and he wants her to be able to concentrate and enjoy her college experience. Think about it. If you had a pair of crazy people knocking on your dorm room door or calling your phone at all hours of the day, would you be able to concentrate?"

"No, I suppose not, but what about Blaine? He was going to go to N.Y.U. and live here with us."

"He's still attending school, but only as a part time student."

Rachel nodded, taking everything in. Suddenly, her head jerked up, "Oh, this must be a horrible strain on your relationship with him living so far away."

"It would be if we were still dating."

Rachel covered her open mouth with one hand. "You mean…you aren't together anymore?"

"No we're not together. Blaine was trying to do too much at once. He wanted to be here to help me get on my feet, but he also wanted to be there with Nicki. It was my idea to split up. I told him that not everyone needed to be saved; he needed to let people do things for themselves every once in awhile. He tried to argue, but I told him that Nichole needed him, and I was fine on my own. I did have you after all," he said nudging Rachel's shoulder with his own, "so it's not like I was alone. We eventually agreed that if we were meant to be, then the opportunity would arise where we could pick back up where we left off…preferably during a time where there wasn't so much drama." During his explanation Kurt's eyes had taken on a glassy appearance.

Rachel nodded sadly and placed her hand on Kurt's arm. "I'm sorry Kurt."

Kurt sniffed and shook his head. "Yes, well, sacrifices must be made sometimes. Blaine needed to focus on his family, so the only local thing to do is remove distractions, and it's not like we don't still talk everyday." He smiled at Rachel in an attempt to convince her that he was alright with the situation.

Rachel looked skeptically at him for a moment, and decide to let the situation with Blaine go, for now. "So, how about we spend Sunday relaxing here at the apartment, or maybe going to Central Park, and on Monday we go job hunting and sign up for some acting, dancing and voice lessons?"

Thankful that Rachel had chosen to move the subject away from his love life, Kurt smiled. "That sounds like a fantastic plan, but first I think we have time for one more musical tonight. What do you say we spend a little time with Team Starkid?" Kurt held up a copy of _Starship_.

Rachel laughed and clapped her hands excitedly. "You have to ask?" she said as she snatched the DVD from Kurt's hand and put it into the player.


	3. Fight! Fight! Sing?

It had been a little over a month since Kurt and Rachel had moved to New York. Within the first week they both had signed themselves up for dance classes, acting classes and voice lessons. The second week both Kurt and Rachel had a stream of good luck. Both found decently paying jobs that were relatively close to their apartment, which were no more than a few minutes bus ride for either of them. Kurt got a job as a mechanic at an upscale car and limo rental place a few streets over from Time Square. Rachel got a job as a singing waitress in an Italian restaurant in Chelsea.

They had also found a small convenience store a few bus stops, or a few blocks walk, away from their apartment. Chelsea Market was also reasonably close, as was a decently sized book and music store.

However, after living with each other for nearly a month Kurt and Rachel began to wear on each other's nerves. Learning to live together was proving to be more difficult than they had originally anticipated.

"You can't possibly be able to function this early," said a bleary eyed Kurt as he leaned on his bedroom door frame.

Rachel, who was wide awake and getting ready to jump on the elliptical that occupied the back right corner of their living room, glanced at the clock that read 5:30 and rolled her eyes at Kurt. "If you wouldn't stay up so late then my morning exercises wouldn't bother you. You might even have the sense to join me before eight o'clock."

Tired though he was, Kurt still managed to muster a sharp glare at his roommate. "One in the morning is not that late. Most people our age stay up until then or later. It's not my fault you feel the need to go to bed at ten thirty like my grandmother. Can't you at least sleep in on Sunday? You know, that one glorious day a week that neither of us has a damn thing to do."

"Must you use profanity?" she asked, clearly annoyed by Kurt's vocabulary choices.

"Sooo sorry for offending your delicate ears, princess, but it's too damn early for me to think of a polite and sophisticated way to ask you to go back to fucking sleep for a few more hours," he snapped.

Rachel flushed a bright pink at the use of Puck's old teasing nickname for her and turned away from Kurt. She cleared her throat in an effort to regain her composure. "Don't call me that, Kurt, and you clearly spent too much time with Noah during that last semester. His vulgar—"

"Oh come off it, Rachel. I know damn well that you know how to curse, and I know that you sure as hell didn't learn how from Puck any more than I did."

For a moment Rachel sputtered indignantly, searching desperately for something to say. Finally she huffed and turned sharply on her heel. "Fine; if you're going to act like this, then I'm leaving." She grabbed her house keys and her small purse as she stalked out the front door. As she stepped out into the hallway she turned to give a parting shot to Kurt, "Better get back to your beauty rest. We wouldn't want you to have dark circles under your eyes as well as five o'clock shadow this morning."

Kurt watched as his furious roommate slammed the front door. He stood for a moment longer before turning abruptly and slamming the door of his own bedroom and barricading himself inside with no intention, what so ever, of coming out for at least two or three more hours.

**************2 hours later**************

_Damn it, _thought a flustered Kurt as he dug through his kitchen cabinets. _It's bad enough that I couldn't get back to sleep, but now I discover that we're out of coffee. _Finally, he closed the doors and collapsed onto a stool that stood on the other side of the counter that divided the kitchen from the living/dining room. Sighing, he closed his eyes and laid his forehead on the cool surface of the counter with his hands gently gripping the edge.

A moment later a large paper cup of coffee was set in front of Kurt. He leapt backwards in surprise. Realizing that the coffee couldn't have just appeared Kurt looked up; his view of the kitchen was blocked by Rachel, who was smiling apologetically.

"Peace offering?" she said, gesturing to the cup sitting in front of Kurt.

Kurt gave her a small smile and picked up his coffee. It was several minutes before either of them spoke again. Both were content to enjoy their morning coffee. Once his coffee was finished Kurt spoke, "I'm sorry about this morning."

Rachel fiddled with her cup. "Me too."

"We need to have something that we do together each week to relieve stress so that we don't kill each other."

"I agree, but what?"

The two thought hard for a moment. Finally, Kurt looked up and said, "Why do we make a tradition of every Sunday going to Central Park and doing something for a few hours, just to get both of us out of the apartment and to give us something else to think about for a while."

"Alright, but what will we do when we get there?"

Kurt shrugged, "What ever we feel like I suppose. We could just walk aimlessly until we run out of places to go. We could rent bikes. We could go to the zoo, or ride in a carriage. Heck, we could even watch a baseball game or attempt to join one of those aerobics classes that meets in the grass. Let's just go and see what happens. No plans, no expectations, just a desire for amusement."

"Alright, just let me get changed."

*************In the Park*************

In the park Kurt and Rachel walked aimlessly through the park, chatting amiably. They stopped briefly to get popsicles from a street vender, and then continued on farther down the path. As they walked Kurt began laughing at Rachel, who was thoroughly enjoying her red, white and blue Popsicle.

"What?" she asked.

"You're going after that thing like a porn star," Kurt managed to choke out before dissolving into more hysterical snickers.

Rachel blushed. "I do not."

Kurt continued to laugh, completely unable to respond.

"Well," she attempted to respond haughtily, "I don't think that this appeals to me anymore." The Popsicle quickly found its way to a nearby trashcan.

As the pair continued down the path, towards the direction of the zoo, they began to see more and more of the street performers. One man had a portable, battery powered keyboard. When he played the first few bars of a song, apparently attempting to decide what he should play; Kurt began humming a song in the same key that began in a similar way. They passed the old man, and Kurt kept humming. Recognizing the song, Rachel began to hum along with him.

After a few bars Kurt began to sing his opening lines in the song that he and Rachel had sung so long ago…Rachel was quick to follow.

**Forget your troubles…**

_Happy Days…_

**Come on get happy…**

_Are here again…_

Their duet continued as they walked through the park, unaware of the audience following them.

_Happy times!_

**Happy times!**

_Happy nights!_

**Happy nights!**

_**Happy days…are…here…again!**_

The applause began as Kurt and Rachel belted out the last few words of the song. When they finished they spun around to see that they had acquired an entourage of sorts. Kurt looked at Rachel, who shrugged and dipped into a curtsy for her adoring, if somewhat temporary fans. With a roll of his eyes Kurt also bowed to their audience. Several tourists came up to them to praise their voices, and more than one old couple asked for a picture. When the crowd finally dispersed Rachel looked at Kurt and said, "I do believe that we have found our Sunday tradition."

"Singing in the park for strangers? Yes, I suppose it does seem like an oddly appropriate way to pass the time."

"It's settled then. Every Sunday we will come out here to walk and sing to remind ourselves of why we came to this city."

"And to remind ourselves why we shouldn't kill one another during the week."

"That too."

With that, Kurt and Rachel linked arms and continued their Sunday stroll.


	4. Time to introduce the second string

**Alright then kiddies. Sorry it's been a while. Life kinda came up and bit me on the ass recently. So anywhos. Without further ado...chapter 4 of A Tale of Two Divas. You should know this by now, but I own nothing that you recognize.  
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***********January 2012 (For those of you that are confused Kurt and Rachel have been in NYC for a little over 6 months)************

"Hey Puck! Come on man! We're gonna be driving all day as it is!"

"I'm comin'! Geeze. Chill out dude," Puck turned to give his mom and sister a quick hug goodbye before tossing his bags into the back of the pickup truck sitting in his driveway. "Let's go!"

"Oh, so you're ready to go now?" was the sarcastic reply.

"Hey! Can it Karofsky. Just because you're a fairy doesn't mean that I won't kick your ass," said Puck with a smirk.

David Karofsky snorted and grinned at his friend and future roommate as they pulled out of the Puckerman driveway, "Like you could, Puckerman. You and the rest of the Shakespeare's wood nymphs wouldn't last five minutes against me."

Puck was able to keep a strait face for about three seconds before he broke out into uncontrolled laughter, "Damn! I forgot that you had the power of the royal fairies behind you."

"Damn strait."

Dave's reply only caused Puck to laugh harder. "I doubt that."

Realizing what his friend was laughing at Dave reached over and punched Puck in the shoulder. "Ha ha, very funny dumb ass."

"I thought so," Puck replied with a smirk as he rubbed his now sore shoulder. "So, how long is it gonna take us to get to the big N.Y.C. anyway?"

Dave grabbed three folded sheets of paper off of his dashboard. "Uhh, Google Maps says about ten and a half hours if we drive nonstop."

Puck nods and looks at his watch. "Okay so it's about ten thirty-ish so why don't we stop around three-ish and I'll take over drivin' and you can navigate."

"Sure, that works."

"Cool, now let's turn on some music!" said Puck as he reached for the radio dial only to have his hand slapped away by Dave.

"Nah-uhh; I'm driving, so I get to pick the music. Now, sit back and enjoy the wonders of Thrice."

************15 Hours Later*************

"Finally!" said Puck as he flopped down onto the old couch in his and Dave's new sparsely furnished apartment.

"Amen," agreed Dave as he sat heavily beside his friend. "I hate dealing with the school. Nobody there knows what the hell they're talking about." He paused, "'Course it probably didn't help that I had to do all of that shit over the phone, and for some reason they always have the dumbest people trying to direct phone calls."

"Yep. This is why I decided not to chain myself down to another soul sucking school."

"Oh shut up," Dave responded half heartedly as he sagged deeper into the cushions.

Puck snickered at his friend and reached over to grab the phone and a handful of takeout menus that he had grabbed from the lobby of their new apartment building while Dave had been talking to the old crow that had been holding their keys hostage. "How does pizza sound?"

"Fantastic."

***********2 weeks later on Sunday at about 11 in the morning************

"GAH!" Dave yelled in frustration and began banging his head on his desk next to his laptop.

"Dude!" said a very ill tempered Puck from the door. "What the fuck! I'm tryin' to sleep."

Without looking up Dave mumbled a quick "Sorry."

"What's with you? It's Sunday. Why the hell are you working?"

"I'm working because homework doesn't magically disappear, and I have to work tomorrow."

Puck rolled his eyes. "Well, is what ever you're doing due tomorrow?"

"No, but-"

"Nope!" interrupted Puck as he snatched the laptop off of the desk. "No buts. You are going to put this shit away, and chill the fuck out for a while. I swear it makes my brain hurt to look at you right now."

"Can I at least save it first?" demanded Dave.

Puck balanced the laptop perilously on the fingers of his left hand while he stroked his chin with his left in a mocking gesture. "I guess so, but like it or not I'm draggin your ass outa here in one hour."

Dave stood up and snatched his computer out of his friend's hand. "Fine, just don't drop my computer dumb ass. Where do you want to go?"

Puck folded his arms across his chest and leaned casually against the doorway. "No idea. I figured we'd just walk around until we found somethin interesting, or until we found food," he replied with a shrug.

"Fair enough. Now, will you please leave me the hell alone for an hour so that I can work?"

"Dude, you're the one that woke me up," said Puck as he turned to leave. "Just keep in mind, I meant what I said. In one hour your ass is out that door whether you like it or not. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going back to fuckin sleep."

"Yeah, whatever," Dave mumbled as he returned to his work.

**********An hour and 2 subway trains later**********

"Will you _please_ stop pouting like a little bitch?"

Dave looked up and glared at his friend. "I'm not pouting. I'm just pissed that you stole my computer dip shit."

Puck rolled his eyes. "You're being a bitch. I told you that I would drag you out; it's not my fault you didn't believe me, and you'll get your computer back later."

"Whatever," sighed Dave. "What now?"

"No idea." Puck looked around to see what was nearby. "Hmmm, well there's a falafel cart over there. Why don't we grab some food?"

"I'm not eating another falafel."

"Why not?"

"Dude, you've had those things at least three times a week since we got here. It's a wonder the entire apartment doesn't smell like the damn things."

Puck scoffed, "Whatever man. Let's go see if there's anything interesting in the park then," he said as he gestured across the street to the Central Park entrance.

"Really man? The Park? Could you possibly be anymore cliché?" said Dave with a smirk.

"Hey, it's not my fault that everything in this fuckin city is a cliché."

"Dude, walking in the park is a cliché in every city. Tell me, should I buy you flowers for our cheesy man date, or should I just find some wild flowers to pick for you along the way?"

"Very funny smart ass." Puck straightened his posture and smoothed down his t-shirt. "Besides, if I did swing that way then you'd be lucky to have me." A shit-eating grin made its way onto his face, "After all, a stud like myself doesn't stay with just anyone."

Dave smiled and rolled his eyes at his friend and playfully shoved him to one side. "Come on then hot stuff. I'm not gonna carry you."

Puck and Dave walked aimlessly through Central Park for quite some time. They stopped to watch a few minutes of one of the many baseball games being held inside the park, and stopped to watch a few street performers. Eventually the two men stopped for something to eat at one of the many hot dog vendors, and later at one of the ice cream and Popsicle vendors.

They were nearing the reservoir in the center of the park when they came across a large crowd of people gathered around a large oak tree at the edge of the path.

"What'd you think that is?" asked Dave around a mouthful of ice cream.

Puck shrugged, too absorbed in his own frozen treat to bother with a verbal reply.

The two started to walk away, but something made Puck stop and turn back towards the crowd that was now clapping and snapping excitedly along with the beat of the music. He took a few steps closer to see if his recognized the song. He did. The two voices singing were muffled just enough by the crowd that Puck could only barely distinguish the male voice from the female voice.

"Yo, Puck? What's up man?" asked Dave curiously.

Puck swallowed his bite of ice cream. "I know that song. Well, I kinda know it anyway. I think Kurt sang it for one of Mr. Shue's lessons." Curious, Puck walked into the crowd and elbowed his way to the front where he froze.

"Puck! Where the hell are you going?" called Dave as he followed his friend. Once he reached the space just behind his roommate Dave also froze in place, too shocked to move.

*********Kurt and Rachel*********

Sunday had started off the same way that it had for the last several months. Rachel woke up at 8 o'clock, two and a half hours later than her normal time, and quietly made her way to the living room where she took out a yoga mat. She had started doing yoga on Sundays so that she didn't wake Kurt with her morning routine, and she found that the change of pace calmed her and prepared her for a relaxing day.

At 9 o'clock Kurt emerged from his room. He peeked into the living room and saw Rachel winding up her routine and walked into her bedroom. He riffled around in her closet and dresser, and pulled out some clothes for her to wear. He chose a forest green, sleeveless sweater dress, black ankle boots, a sliver chain belt, and a long multiple strand necklace. Satisfied, Kurt nodded to himself and entered his own room.

For himself Kurt picked out a plain white fitted t-shirt, a black military style jacket with red detailing around the edges and gold buttons all the way up to the neck, on the pockets and shoulders, some dark wash jeans, and a pair of slightly dressy shoes. He gathered his clothes, entered the divided bathroom, and placed his clothes on the counter before beginning his morning routine.

Rachel entered the bathroom a few moments later with the clothes that Kurt had picked out for her. She walked behind Kurt, mindful of the razor he currently held to his face, into the second half of the divided bathroom where she could take her shower. Several minutes later Rachel emerged from the shower dressed, and towel drying her wet hair. She moved quietly to the side so that Kurt could take his own shower while she finished the remainder of her routine in front of the mirror that Kurt had recently vacated.

"Ahh," said Kurt about 20 minutes later, "I feel human now."

"Good to know," said Rachel with a smile. "Do you want coffee? I'm going to get some tea for myself at the little corner shop while you finish your hair."

"Sure. Could you get me a caramel macchiato? My wallet is on the table."

Rachel walked into the living room and found Kurt's plain leather wallet sitting on the coffee table. She opened it and took out a five dollar bill. "Alright. I'll be back in a few minutes."

When she returned Kurt was in the kitchen taking two halves of a bagel out of the toaster and spreading strawberry jelly on each half. The two walked over to the couch and sat down. Kurt placed the plate with the bagel halves on the table and took his coffee from Rachel. "Thank you." He took a drink and sighed dramatically, "Whoever invented this delicious nectar is nothing short of a god."

Rachel giggled and picked up one bagel half. The two ate in comfortable silence. By the time 11 o'clock rolled around the breakfast had been eaten, coffee had been drunk and both Kurt and Rachel were ready to brave another day in New York City.

"You know," said Rachel as she and Kurt sat next to each other on one of the many busses that roamed the city, "it's almost strange how comfortable our morning routines have become."

"Yes," said Kurt with an easy smile, "it's almost like second nature now, but what do you expect after living together for more than six months?"

Rachel smiled in agreement and returned her gaze to the traffic outside her window. "Oh," she tugged gently on Kurt's jacket, "our stop's next."

Kurt nodded and prepared to stand and exit the bus. Once outside Kurt gallantly offered his arm to his short companion. "Shall we?" he asked with a wide smile on his face.

"Thank you kind sir," replied Rachel. "Where shall we take our performance this week?"

"How about the center of the park? There's always a good crowd that way."

"Wonderful."

The pair walked at a leisurely pace towards the center of the park. Occasionally they would stop and talk with some of the other street performers that they had come to know over the last few months. Eventually they came to a stop under a large oak tree that was somewhat separated from the rest of the performers. "Shall we stop here?"

"Yes," said Rachel as she looked around to see who else was performing in the area. "What shall we sing today?"

"I don't know," said Kurt as he leaned casually against the fence that separated the path from the grass. "Let's do something a little different this week."

"Oh! I have the perfect idea!" exclaimed Rachel. "Why don't we sing the duet from _Victor Victoria_ that you sang back in school? 'Le Jazz Hot.'"

"As much as I enjoy that song, how is that different from our normal selection of Broadway classics?"

Rachel smirked, "Well I thought that we could bend the roles a bit."

Kurt arched and eyebrow, "Continue."

"Instead of singing the traditional male and female roles we'll switch. I'll sing the male part and you'll sing the female part." She nudged him with her elbow, "Besides, you performed the song so brilliantly the last time I must admit I wouldn't mind an encore."

"Well," smirked Kurt, "who am I to deny the lady's wishes." He swept into an elegant bow. "Start us off then…_sir_."

"Gladly."

That being said Rachel and Kurt launched enthusiastically into the song. It wasn't long before they had a sizeable audience gathered around them. They were so wrapped up in their performance that neither Kurt nor Rachel realized that a pair of familiar faces had joined the crowed.

They finished the song with a flourish and a bow, and the crowd erupted into applause and whistles. Rachel grinned and hugged Kurt around the middle.

"Holy shit!"

The exclamation caused both Rachel and Kurt to turn sharply. There standing open-mouthed and applauding slowly, as though in shock, were Noah Puckerman and David Karofsky.

**Well there you have it! Dave and Puck have come out to play! Yay! Reviews are always appreciated!**


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